Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Cooper was mostly his usual self the following morning.
Gramps was right about the power of a good night’s sleep. Ben still made sure to keep him close as they ate breakfast and talked about plans for another cookout this weekend—one involving Hannah, his son suggested to his delight.
Watching her with his son last night as the firelight danced over their precious faces had a new part of his heart settling back into place.
When he’d sought his bed, the sheets hadn’t felt so cold.
He’d gone to sleep with happy memories of their mingled laughter and her side pressed against his while his son insisted on spearing their marshmallows with the sticks they’d gathered.
Simple moments.
Simple living.
Stripping back life to what mattered most.
Being together.
Having fun.
Enjoying the beauty of a good fire and a warm summer night.
By the end, his heart had been as warm as the kindling glowing among stones.
He was in the yard when he spotted Hannah walking down with a red thermos. Watching the easy sway of her hips had him wanting to pull her close, but he still needed to wait a bit. Instead, he tipped his hat. “Morning, sunshine. Don’t you look pretty as a picture today?”
She gave a swish of those mouthwatering hips of hers. “Why, thank you. Your Tough Man’s Tea.”
He took it and peered at it with a comic expression. “How bad is it really? I figure if you’re smart, you’ll enact a little revenge and make it pukey.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she said with a sparkle in her eyes, making him grin.
“No? Good to hear. Now, what are we doing for our rain check tonight?” He still had to show her where he planned to build her school.
“The fried chicken will still be good cold.”
“The pie will be soggy, though.” He cringed, imagining his trip up to the main house. “Maybe I can talk Grams into making another.”
Her easy laughter had him tugging on the end of her hair quickly before stepping back. “Ben McAllister, you’re shameless.”
“Sometimes. Since Grams can’t cook on the stove anymore, I figure I’m making her happy by asking for a pie.”
“Spoken like a true man. Now try my tea.”
“I was kinda hoping you’d forget.” He ducked as she pretended to punch him in the arm, a sure sign they were moving in the direction he hoped. “I’m kidding. I asked for it, didn’t I?”
Her arched brow made him grin wider. She’d brewed it special for him, so he opened the thermos and tried it.
The taste actually had some bite to it, one he could chew on. “Not bad. I’ll take it with me when I ride over to the construction site. Wanna come? There’s something I’ve been wanting to show you. Besides, Will and the men are finalizing the foundation.”
“I know. He came by the house earlier, asking for help with his hand. He whacked it between a couple of the rails.”
Will hadn’t mentioned anything about his wound last night.
Typical Will. When he’d come inside to give Cooper a bath and put him to bed, Will’s door had already been closed.
He’d respected his brother’s privacy by not knocking.
Now he wondered if Will hadn’t gotten off-balance because of his bad leg and gotten hurt.
That alone wouldn’t have made him upset.
The missing lumber shipment and the money had to be eating at him. He thought back to Will saying he wished he could talk to him more like he used to. Well, Ben was going to pull his brother aside as soon as he saw him.
“Thanks for taking care of Will.” He tugged gently on the ends of her hair again and grinned when she didn’t step back. “What’s it to be? You going?”
He watched a wrinkle fill her brow line.
“What’s the matter?” he pressed. “I know that look.”
She bit her lip. “It’s Flame. She still won’t give me the time of day.”
Right. That horse was showing she sure could hold a grudge, which had to hurt like hell. He’d have to think on what he could do to help beyond what he had. “You’re making progress. Maybe she needs a tea.”
“I wish,” she remarked with a long-suffering eye roll. “How about we save that ride for our picnic? Neil and I were going to forage today. More herbs to dry for my healing place.”
“It’s a date.” He touched her nose playfully and watched to make sure she didn’t frown at the term—which she didn’t. “Make sure you wear some sunscreen, so you don’t get all sunburned.”
She gave him a sassy shove, making his day. First, a hip swish, then her consenting to a date, and now an old Hannah favorite. Progress was in the air, all right. “You’re one to talk, cowboy.”
He touched his jaw. “I’m weathered like leather.”
“Uh-huh.” She crossed her arms. “I’ve heard that before.”
“Hannah!”
They turned as Cooper came running up with Tank. “Are you going foraging today? Can I come?”
She glanced at Ben, who was waiting for her answer. “If your papa says it’s okay.”
He turned and grabbed Ben’s shirt. “Please, Papa! Tank and me will be real good, I promise.”
Ben ruffled his hair. “You’re always good, son. You can go. See if you can find me a special rock for my collection.”
Hannah raised her brow. “Since when do you have a rock collection?”
“Since my son here started bringing me rocks.” They shared a tender smile. “It’s tradition now. Well, I need to get on and see how things are going at the site.”
His phone rang, the emergency sound that always made him freeze at first before he ground down. He pulled it out of his back pocket and excused himself. “Yeah.”
“James Taft is at the main gate with a truck filled with lumber,” Dusty told him. “Said he’d heard about the trouble and wanted to help out like a good neighbor. One of the hands called up to ask how to handle it.”
Ben laughed mirthlessly. “That’s some cojones. This dog and pony show I’ve got to see. Let him come up. And Dusty…I want you here right away. I need someone to video the encounter.”
“You got it, boss.”
When the call ended, Ben tucked his phone back in his pocket. “You two get on with your foraging.”
“Something wrong, Papa?” Cooper asked, his innocent face wrinkled with concern.
He didn’t like to worry his son, so he only hugged him to his side. “I’ve got to handle a man I don’t rightly like much. Today, I can’t give him that wide berth we talked about.”
His gaze lifted to her. She was watching him with that line between her brows. He gave her a wink, which had her smiling softly.
“Cooper, why don’t you run up ahead and make sure Neil is ready to go?” she asked.
“You bet!” He rushed off with Tank barreling after him.
“Taft is on his way up,” he said, touching her arm gently. “I want you and Cooper out of sight.”
She nodded crisply. “We’ll go out the back. Take care, Ben.”
“Don’t worry none. Dusty will be coming to join me.”
After a worried look in her eye, he watched her go. She continued to look back over her shoulder. He watched until she was gone from view before walking down past the main house.
Dusty was puffing when he reached him. Ben didn’t have a chance to do more than incline his chin at the man before Taft arrived. Ben made sure Dusty had pulled up his phone before he walked over to the driver’s side.
Taft rolled down the window. Today, he wore Western wear, from a fancy Stetson to a white button-down work shirt.
Still, Ben could see the city on him. “It’s all over town about your troubles, Ben.
I might be new to the area, but I wanted to help out by bringing some lumber from the Silver Dollar.
I heard from a fellow in town that others in the community were doing so. I hope you’ll accept my help.”
Ben stared him down. The man’s face revealed nothing. Then again, his ancestor had been an infamous poker player. “We’re lucky to be helped by so many.”
“Indeed,” Taft agreed as Ben signaled to the hands to start unloading the flatbed. “I also heard Skip Jenkins is thinking about selling you some of his land.”
Ben ground his teeth. Land sakes, this asshole had spies everywhere. “Now that is not common knowledge.”
“You’d be surprised.” Taft’s mouth formed an almost lazy sneer. “Every small town plays the telephone game, Ben. I’d like to offer you triple what you pay for it.”
“That’s mighty premature,” Ben answered cautiously, putting his boot on the truck’s running board.
“Not to me.” Taft drew out a slender cheroot and lit it. “Ben, you and your family don’t need that land. I do. The Silver Dollar just isn’t a big enough spread yet. Coming back here to the town where my ancestor started means a lot to my family and me.”
Ben made a noncommittal sound, doubting it.
Taft had three ex-wives living on his money in Florida, from what he’d heard, and three college children who had yet to set foot in Montana.
What was hard to figure was this obsession with his ancestor.
But asking would only make the man stay longer on his property.
“After you refused to sell Wild Mountain to me, I think it would be neighborly of you to sell Jenkins’ land to me instead.”
He made sure the last of the lumber was unloaded before he gave an easygoing smile. “James, if Skip had wanted to sell that land to you, he would have. Instead, he wanted to sell it to my family and me. That’s how things are.”
Taft puffed a few circles of smoke in the air before locking eyes with him. More like locking horns. “Things can change. I’m sorry you weren’t willing to consider my offer. Every time I come up to the Triple M, I leave disappointed. That doesn’t make me happy, Ben. Not one bit.”
Ben only shrugged. “Thanks again for the lumber.”
Taft gave a careless wave. “Think nothing of it. I could buy and sell every lumberyard in Montana and the surrounding states, but where would that leave you?”
Ben knew a challenge when he heard it. “Right here on the Triple M, Taft. Good day.”
The older man clamped on his cheroot and turned on the truck, pulling in a wide circle to leave the same way he’d come. Ben was glad to see him go. Some men liked to play games, but he wasn’t one of them.
Dusty drifted over toward him. “He’s as clever as a snake, coming here with lumber like that, pretending to be all neighborly.”
“Make sure to go over the lumber he brought. Make sure it doesn’t have a fire accelerant on it or anything that could hurt us.”
Dusty whistled. “That’s some kind of twisted imagination you have, boss.”
“I’m learning from the best,” he replied, gesturing to the trail of dust Taft was leaving.
“How’s the foundation going up at the construction site? I haven’t gotten up there yet.”
“Fine.” Dusty cracked his neck. “Your brother is moving slow, dragging that leg of his. He’s pushing too hard.”
So he’d been right about the reason behind Will’s damaged hand. “I’ll talk to him. But first, I need to call Skip and get moving on this land deal. I don’t like Taft knowing.”
“Could be Skip mentioned it,” Dusty offered, tipping his cowboy hat up.
Ben shook his head. “I don’t think so. Skip knows to play this close to the vest. Keep an eye out for any strange behavior from any of the hands.
I don’t want to get paranoid, but Taft isn’t above throwing money around.
That includes people. I would hope we treat people well enough, but most men can be bought. ”
Dusty swore a blue streak. “I’ll check around. I don’t like this. It’s hard enough to keep this ranch going every day with cattle, least of all worrying about people turning Judas.”
He slapped the man on the back. “I know it. But we need to look.”
He feared it was the Judas they didn’t expect that could do them in when they weren’t looking.